finally convinced her to go out with him. Maybe after spending time together he would understand what it was about Morgan that drew him to her.
“I’ll go along with whatever you want, Mo.” He’d agree to almost anything just to have her go out with him.
Morgan could not believe what she’d agreed to do. Had she truly lost her mind? Anyone who went to the club knew that if a group of guys or women came in together they were there for guys’ or girls’ night out. If she and Nate were to go together, then they would be thought of as a couple. Going to the club as a couple would only intensify the gossip that had begun at Kara and Jeff’s wedding reception.
“I’m going to give you my business card,” she said, her voice shaded in neutral tones as she stood up and walked to the desk. Picking up a pen, she jotted down a number on the reverse side. “I’m also including my home number. If I don’t pick up, then leave a voice mail.”
Nate stood up. “The shop’s voice mail is working now. Please give me your cell phone and I’ll program it with my numbers.” Morgan handed him the card and her cell phone. “Are there any new dishes on Jack’s menu?” he asked.
“No. The only change is smaller children’s portions. Other than that it’s the same.” Morgan watched him tap the screen as he programmed several numbers into her phone. “How many numbers do you have?”
Glancing up, Nate smiled at her. “I’m giving you my cell. Also my sister’s number, because I’ve been living with her until my apartment is ready, and my dad’s cell.”
“Haven Creek isn’t so big that I won’t be able to find you. What do you plan to do? Go MIA?”
“No.” He handed her back the iPhone. “I didn’t bust my hump for the past five months putting up that barn to cut and run. I plan to be around for a very long time.” Nate squinted at Morgan. “I hope you weren’t thinking I was going to run out with your money. You don’t trust me, do you?” he said before she could answer.
“Of course I trust you.”
“I was just checking.”
Pinpoints of heat stung her cheeks once she realized that Nate was teasing her. After all, it wasn’t her money but Kara’s. The newly married Mrs. Jeffrey Hamilton—a direct descendant of Shipley Patton, the original owner of Angels Landing—had put up more than five million dollars to begin the restoration of the property that had been in her family since the l830s.
Morgan didn’t know Nate well enough to have witnessed this side of his personality. When most boys were, as the older folks would say, cuttin’ the fool, he’d always been rather serious, something she’d attributed to the fact that he had lost his mother. Morgan hadn’t attended Manda Shaw’s funeral, but those who did talked about it for a long time. Lucas and Sharon had been inconsolable, while Nate hadn’t shed a tear. Miss Hester claimed someone in the family had to be strong for the rest of the Shaws.
Three months later, gossip spread across the island like a lighted fuse attached to a stick of dynamite when Lucas married Odessa. Morgan had been too young to understand what all the talk was about when Nate’s younger brother was born. And if there was one rule in the Dane household that was enforced to the letter, it was not repeating gossip. Neither Morgan nor her sisters were permitted to talk about their friends or what they’d overheard. Just this week, when she and her sisters had joined their parents for Sunday dinner, Rachel had been abruptly silenced with a disapproving glare from her mother when she opened her mouth to repeat what she’d heard about Morgan and Nate.
“If we’re going to work together, then we have to learn to trust each other.”
“I do trust you, Mo. Otherwise I never would’ve given you my word about re-creating the slave village.”
Morgan studied his face feature by feature, searching for a hint of guile. Even if the feelings she’d had for Nate
“I’ll go along with whatever you want, Mo.” He’d agree to almost anything just to have her go out with him.
Morgan could not believe what she’d agreed to do. Had she truly lost her mind? Anyone who went to the club knew that if a group of guys or women came in together they were there for guys’ or girls’ night out. If she and Nate were to go together, then they would be thought of as a couple. Going to the club as a couple would only intensify the gossip that had begun at Kara and Jeff’s wedding reception.
“I’m going to give you my business card,” she said, her voice shaded in neutral tones as she stood up and walked to the desk. Picking up a pen, she jotted down a number on the reverse side. “I’m also including my home number. If I don’t pick up, then leave a voice mail.”
Nate stood up. “The shop’s voice mail is working now. Please give me your cell phone and I’ll program it with my numbers.” Morgan handed him the card and her cell phone. “Are there any new dishes on Jack’s menu?” he asked.
“No. The only change is smaller children’s portions. Other than that it’s the same.” Morgan watched him tap the screen as he programmed several numbers into her phone. “How many numbers do you have?”
Glancing up, Nate smiled at her. “I’m giving you my cell. Also my sister’s number, because I’ve been living with her until my apartment is ready, and my dad’s cell.”
“Haven Creek isn’t so big that I won’t be able to find you. What do you plan to do? Go MIA?”
“No.” He handed her back the iPhone. “I didn’t bust my hump for the past five months putting up that barn to cut and run. I plan to be around for a very long time.” Nate squinted at Morgan. “I hope you weren’t thinking I was going to run out with your money. You don’t trust me, do you?” he said before she could answer.
“Of course I trust you.”
“I was just checking.”
Pinpoints of heat stung her cheeks once she realized that Nate was teasing her. After all, it wasn’t her money but Kara’s. The newly married Mrs. Jeffrey Hamilton—a direct descendant of Shipley Patton, the original owner of Angels Landing—had put up more than five million dollars to begin the restoration of the property that had been in her family since the l830s.
Morgan didn’t know Nate well enough to have witnessed this side of his personality. When most boys were, as the older folks would say, cuttin’ the fool, he’d always been rather serious, something she’d attributed to the fact that he had lost his mother. Morgan hadn’t attended Manda Shaw’s funeral, but those who did talked about it for a long time. Lucas and Sharon had been inconsolable, while Nate hadn’t shed a tear. Miss Hester claimed someone in the family had to be strong for the rest of the Shaws.
Three months later, gossip spread across the island like a lighted fuse attached to a stick of dynamite when Lucas married Odessa. Morgan had been too young to understand what all the talk was about when Nate’s younger brother was born. And if there was one rule in the Dane household that was enforced to the letter, it was not repeating gossip. Neither Morgan nor her sisters were permitted to talk about their friends or what they’d overheard. Just this week, when she and her sisters had joined their parents for Sunday dinner, Rachel had been abruptly silenced with a disapproving glare from her mother when she opened her mouth to repeat what she’d heard about Morgan and Nate.
“If we’re going to work together, then we have to learn to trust each other.”
“I do trust you, Mo. Otherwise I never would’ve given you my word about re-creating the slave village.”
Morgan studied his face feature by feature, searching for a hint of guile. Even if the feelings she’d had for Nate
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